Lee Garnett

Lee Garnett : his only surviving pictureLee Garnett was a 1950s rockabilly singer who burned bright and fast, only to vanish into obscurity before the decade was out. Born in 1935 in a small Texas town, Jimmy grew up on a diet of Hank Williams, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and the raw energy of southern juke joints. He taught himself guitar on a beat-up acoustic his father left behind and started playing at local dances while still in high school. By 19, he had formed a three-piece band called The Lonesome Tones and cut a handful of singles for a tiny independent label out of Memphis. His voice was a wild, snarling mix of Elvis’s swagger and Johnny Cash’s melancholy—but with a ragged edge all his own. Tracks like "Cat Scratch Fever"and "Red Hot Mama\" got some regional radio play, but never charted nationally. Lee’s big break came in 1957 when Sun Records producer Sam Phillips reportedly listened to one of his demos and said, "That boy's got something, but he's too raw" A session was…